Product News

New Sentinel SESI

European water treatment specialist Sentinel continues to innovate by expanding its range of scale protection devices with the addition of the Sentinel SESI. The Sentinel SESI electrolytic scale inhibitor is now available from merchants across the country.

Approximately 65% of homes in the United Kingdom suffer from the damaging effects of hard water, particularly households in the Midlands, East Anglia and London and the South East. Independent research suggests that limescale build up can be a major contributor to higher household energy bills within these hard water areas. The build up of limescale can also be identified as a cause of more regular or unexpected maintenance, with intervention often required to clear blockages and improve flow characteristics in pipes, fittings and appliances.

Limescale can build up on boiler heat exchangers, on valves and pipework and inside any appliances which heat the water flowing through them – washing machines and dish washers as well as kettles, steam irons, and the like. This impairs their efficiency, increasing energy bills and often leading to more regular maintenance and appliance break down.

For example, the average life expectancy of a boiler heat exchanger, the unit in the boiler which heats the water flowing through it, is between 10 – 15 years but in hard water areas this can dramatically decrease to a mere 2 – 3 years. If those involved in the construction or maintenance of properties in hard water areas are knowledgeable about the problems limescale can cause, they can specify or fit a limescale prevention device to help protect against limescale build up and optimise efficiency.

Prevention rather than cure
A low maintenance and cost-effective option for protecting against the adverse effects of hard water is the installation of a physical water conditioner such as an electrolytic inhibitor. Rather than removing the hard minerals and softening the water, electrolytic inhibitors work by altering the physical properties of the minerals within the water, preventing the formation of hard scale. If you are looking to protect against the build up of limescale, it’s important to fit a device which is independently proven and which is recommended by the Compliance Guide to Part L1 of the UK Building Regulations.

The Sentinel SESI is one such device. It’s a cost effective way to help ensure Part L1 compliance and protect a property against the damaging effects of limescale. It works by treating the hard water mineral salts as they flow through the system, preventing them from settling as a tough layer of limescale. It uses a natural electrolytic process, making it an environmentally friendly and relatively inexpensive method of limescale protection. The life expectancy of the device is 10 years, during which time the device requires no maintenance, making it an attractive solution for those managing a large number of properties.

Further information
For more information about water hardness or how electrolytic devices work, Sentinel’s Help With Hard Water website can be found at www.helpwithhardwater.co.uk. The site has a number of downloadable resources in addition to a ‘postcode checker’ which will inform you of local water hardness at any given area within the UK.

For information on the SESI and other Sentinel quality water treatment products, visit www.sentinel-solutions.net or call 01928 583280.